Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator. Therefore, there is a continuing need for gaming machine manufacturers to continuously develop new games and improved gaming enhancements that will attract frequent play through enhanced entertainment value to the player.
Video draw poker has been played in gaming establishments for many years. In conventional video draw poker, a single player does not play against a dealer or other players, but rather attempts to achieve a highest possible poker-hand ranking. After a player makes an initial wager and is dealt five face-up cards from a standard 52-card deck, the player is allowed to discard and replace unwanted cards with replacement cards from the deck, resulting in a final card hand. The game then determines a poker-hand ranking of the final card hand and provides an award based on a paytable. The paytable includes a list of winning poker-hand rankings and the award for each ranking. The winning poker-hand rankings for a standard Jacks or Better video poker game include in order from highest to lowest: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair and a Pair of Jacks or Better. Any poker hand having a ranking less than a Pair of Jacks or Better is a losing hand.
Manufacturers have developed variations to conventional video draw poker. One objective in developing such variations is to differentiate a video poker product from that of the competition. Another objective is to increase the speed of play and/or the number of coins or credits wagered. As casino patrons become bored or annoyed with existing variations to conventional video draw poker, gaming establishments are continually looking for new video poker games that will attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the gaming establishment.
One way to increase player participation and enthusiasm for a game or a family of games is by adding a “secondary” or “bonus” game that may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome in the basic game. Generally, bonus games provide a greater expectation of winning than the basic game and may also be accompanied with more attractive or unusual video displays and/or audio. Bonus games may additionally award players with “progressive jackpot” awards that are funded, at least in part, by a percentage of coin-in from the gaming machine or a plurality of participating gaming machines. Because the bonus game concept offers tremendous advantages in player appeal and excitement relative to other known games, and because such games are attractive to both players and operators, there is a continuing need to develop gaming machines with new types of bonus games to satisfy the demands of players and operators.
Another concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is to add a social networking aspect to the gaming website. Social communication and social networking is on the rise. Internet users are enjoying a proliferation of social networking mechanisms (e.g., social networking websites, online chats, blogging, social networking applications, electronic mail or “e-mail,” text messaging, etc.) that are appearing online in vast quantities. Many wagering game companies are discovering the value of integrating wagering games with social networking mechanisms. Some wagering game companies have created online gaming websites that provide a way for wagering game enthusiasts to play games and interact with each other while connected to a communications network such as the Internet (e.g., via a web-browser). Some of those online gaming websites also provide social networks and social networking functionality. Social networks allow wagering game players (“players”) to create social network user accounts (“player accounts”) with one or more unique identifiers that represent an online persona. An online persona can be a graphical depiction (i.e., an avatar) of social network persona, and can be simply a player identification number related to a particular player. These online personas and associated avatars add to the fun of belonging to a social network. In some cases, players can utilize a gaming website to engage in non-wagering games that are related to the wagering games offered in casinos. Players can unlock content and accrue features via the gaming website, and those features and content can then be accessed at a gaming terminal. Furthermore, many social networking websites are expanding their capabilities to integrate with content providers, including wagering game providers. Thus, some online gaming websites and some social networking websites are continually looking to integrate and/or incorporate each other's features.
Yet another way to increase player interest via online gaming websites is to provide the opportunity for enhanced game play features, such as bonus games, special game content and player avatars, and customization capabilities, to players who frequent websites from remote devices. Players can obtain player account numbers from the website and then use the player accounts to store special features accrued online for use at the gaming terminal. Players at the gaming terminal can input their player account numbers to access and play the game play features that were accrued online and stored in the account.